By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, April 22: Sape’ songstress Alena Murang has unveiled her new song, ‘Pemung Jae (Trio Version)’, timed with Earth Day celebrations.
Sung in the indigenous Kenyah language, the song depicts camaraderie with true friends under the moonlight by the life-giving river.
Alena’s music is thoroughly intentional, drawing inspiration from the Kelabit stories of her community.
“We are known as Orang Ulu people because we come from the ‘ulu sungai’, or headwaters, in my case, ulu Sungai Baram. Rivers are so important for us not just for resources and connectivity but also as part of our identity. Even when we meet other Orang Ulu people, we will often time identify ourselves by the names of our rivers,” she highlighted in a media release today.
Originally featured in her debut EP, ‘Flight’, in 2016, ‘Pemung Jae’ has undergone a transformative journey, culminating in this trio rendition.
On the release of the trio version, Alena shares, “This is a song that I’ve been playing for over 20 years. And I feel that it has grown with me. This Trio version has been developed over the past two years, with the female musicians in my band, Simmy on keyboard and Yi Mann on Guzheng.”
The trio first performed this song when they were on tour in Taiwan, as one of the universities requested a trio set-up. They have since maintained this harmonious trio resonance for different performances in Malaysia and Canada.
Complementing the release, a lyric video, curated with personal footage captured along the serene banks of Alena’s hometown river in Long Peluan, is now available on her official YouTube channel.
Watch the lyric video here, and the song can be streamed on all major digital platforms. Those interested can listen to Pemung Jae (Trio Version) here. — DayakDaily
